Apparatus for refining oil.



W. C. McELHENY.

APPARATUS FOR REFINlNG OIL.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 25, I912.

Paten ted June 15, 1915.

, R O T N E V m s E s s E N. u w

WILLIAM C. McELI-IENY, F PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA.

-APPARATUS FOR REFINING OIL.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, WILLIAM C. MoEL-\ -HENY,a resident of Pittsburgh, in the county of Allegheny and State ofPennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement in A paratusfor'Refining Oil, of which the fol owing is a specification.

This invention relates to apparatus for refining or distilling oil.

The object of the invention is to provide improved apparatus forrefining or distillin oils, whereby alarge quantity of oil may betreated rapidly and economically and raised to the desired temperaturein a comparatively short period of time, and without liability of overheating any portion of the oil or burning or carbonizing the same.

A further object of the invention is to provide improved oil refiningapparatus,

having a plurality of heating coils therein,

and wherein said coils are connected in parallel to utilize to the bestadvantage the heatingl medium passed therethrough, and are supported insuch manner as to be out of contact with the walls of the retort, topermit a free flow or circulation of the oil therein. 7

The invention comprises the apparatus hereinafter described and claimed.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of a retort embodyingthe invention; Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same with the cover removed,and Fig. 3 is a detail cross sectional view on the line 3-3, Fig. 2.

The retort may be of any desired shape in cross section, but preferablycomprises a suitable tank orvessel l of cylindrical shape and providedwith an annular flange 2 for supporting the same about a vertical axis.The bottom 3 of the retort is in the shape of an-inverted cone, thewalls thereof converging downwardly to an outlet 4 formed by a dischargemember 5 suitably riveted or Specification of Letters latent. PatentedJune 15, 1915. Application filed November 25, 1912. Serial No. 733,395.

separate coiled pipes 12. Each of these coils is in the form of a helixor cylindrical spiral, with the bottom turn of the-pipe resting upon oneof the steps or shelves 10 of the chairs& The upper turns of the pipesin the different coils are all at substantially the same and anyconvenient level in the tank, say about midway between the extreme top.thereof and the upperend of the bottom 3. The several coils12 areconcentrically disposed about the vertical axis of the tank andgradually decrease in diameter by successive steps toward thecentralcoil, which-is the smallest in diameter but has the greatestdepth. The pitch of the spirals in the separate coils may be the same ordifferent, but if varied the pitch of the inner coils is preferably lessthan that of the outer coils, to equalize as nearly as possible thetotal length of pipe in each ofthe separate coils. extent by the factthat the inner coils of less diameter are deeperor longer than the outercoils. i

All of the coils are supplied with steam, hot air, or other heatingmedium from a manifold or supply main 13, suitably supported on theoutside of the tank, and preferably in inclined position and parallel tothe bottom 8, as shown. Connected to said This is equalized to somemanifold are a plurality of supply pipes 14,

each of which is provided with a suitable ioo regulating valve 15 andpasses through the wall of the bottom 3 and then directly upwardlybetween the coils 12 to the upper level of the coils where it isconnected with one thereof. The discharge outlets 16 from the coils aretapped from the bottom turns of the pipe and preferably lead directlythrough the inclined bottom 3. to a common separate coils 12 areconnected in parallel.

discharge pipe 17, located on the opposite That is to say, each coil issupplied with steam or other heating medium from one medium through thechamber 6 in the discharge pipe 5, as described, a suitable con- Inection 18 may be tapped ofi from the manifold 13 and led to thedischarge pipe, said connection being provided with a suitableregulating valve 19. The discharge from the chamber of the outletconnection 5 may also be led to the common discharge pipe 17.

At its upper end the retort is provided with a peripheralflange 20 towhich is secured the flange 21 of a cap or cover 22, hav: ing agooseneck 23 which leads to a suitable condenser, as will be readilyunderstood. It may also be provided with a suitable oil supplyconnection 24 having a regulating valve 25 therein. A suitableregulating valve 26 may also be placed in the discharge pipe 5, toregulate the flow of the material from the bottom of the tank.

The apparatus is used in the following mannerr The tank is first filledwith the proper quantity of oil. -A supply of steam is then admitted tothe manifold or main 13 and passes through the supply connections 14:'to the several heating coils 12 and then out through the dischargeconnections 16 to the discharge pipe 17. The steam is preferably underpressure and passes through drawn to be stored for use. By manipulatingthe regulating valves 15, or the supply of steam to the manifold 13, therise in temperature may be rapid, or if desired, the

temperature may be maintained for a suitable length of time at anypoint. In this manner fractional distillation may be car ried on with asfine lines of division as desired, the various constituents of the oilbeing separated successively.

The steam circulated through the various coils gives up its heat to the'oil and is thereby condensed to water, which flows out through thedischarge main 17. The latter rieaeae may, however, also be used as asupply main for steam in addition to the main 13. That is, both of themains 13 and 17 may be con nected to a common'boiler or other source ofsteam 20 ,\as shown. In this case the main 1? will be made of large sizeand serves to carry ofi' all the condensed steam and return it to theboiler to be used over again, and will also be large enough to permit acertain amount of live boiler steam toflow therethrough to the coils,which it will enter at the bottom, where the highest temperature isdesirable. This arrangement, however, is not essential and may bedispensed with.

During the process of distillation the oill immediately surroundingtheheating pipes /or coils rises as it becomesheated and the cooler oilin the top of the tank descends, thus causing a circulation of the oilwithin the tank andconsequently uniformly heating the entire mass. Thecoils or pipes are supported upon the chairs 8 out of contact with thewall of the bottom 3, so that the oil freely circulates around theentire mass of coils or pipes. As distinguished from retorts heatedsolely by an external flame, there is no liability of the layers of oilin contact with the outer wall'of the retort or the bottom thereofbeing'overheated and thereby burning or carbonizing. 1n externallyheated retorts, it is necessary to apply a large. quantity of heat tothe outside to in sure the heating of the oil in the center, at leastwithin a reasonable time. This results in burning or carbonizingthelayers of oil in contact with the walls of the retort and not onlydestroys this oil but also forms deposits of coke or crust on theinterior surface of the wall, which deposits in time become so thick asto materially retard heating of the oil in the tank. Such deposits are.

practically entirely avoided with my improved retort. Moreover, shouldany deposits be formed on the interior thereof, they can be easilywashed down and out through the bottom outlet, as the bottom of the tankis unobstructed and a free flow of material along the bottom wall to theoutlet may be obtained. It will also be noted that the manifold 13 anddischarge pipe 17 are both comparatively close to the wall of the bottom3, and that the supply pipes 14 leading from the manifold 13 andextending to is not sufiiciently high the steam may be passed through asuperheater before going to the retort, or, if desired, the oil may beheated as high as possible in the retort and may then be withdrawn andraised to a higher temperature in a separate externally heated retort. Imay also mount one or more gas burners 28 of any suitable type beneaththe retort and between the manifolds 13 and 17 which burners can be usedto raise the temperature of the oil above that to which it is raised bythe steam alone. In other words, thc steam coils in the tank may be usedto preheat the oil, the final heat being given by gas or other burners.In any case, however, the output of the retort is largely increased bythe reduction in the time required for heating the oil. Also the periodof application of external flame to the tank is so largely reduced thatthere is little liability of coking, carbonizing, or over heating of theoil.

' It will of course be understood that the details of. my invention maybe considerably varied without departing from the spirit or scope oftheinvention.

What I claim is 1. Apparatus for refining oil, comprising a tank havinga bottom outlet, a plurality of helical pipe coils thereinconcentrically disposed about a common axis, two manifolds lying beneathsaid tank, and connections from said manifolds to the upper and lowerends of the several coils.

2. Apparatus for refining oil, comprising a tank having a bottomoutlet,a plurality of helical pipe coils therein concentrically disposed abouta common axis, two manifolds lying beneath said tank, and connectionsfrom said manifolds to the upper and lower. ends of the several coils,all of said connections passing through the tank bottom.

3. Apparatus for refining oil, comprising a tank having a bottom outlet,a plurality of helical pipe coils therein concentrically disposed abouta common axis, two manifolds lying beneath said ank, and connectionsfrom said manifolds to the upper and lower ends of the several coils,all of said connections passing through the tank bottom, and eachconnection being provided with a separate regulating valve.

4. Apparatus for refining oil, comprising a cylindrical tank having aninverted coni-xcal bottom provided with a central outlet, a plurality ofhelical pipe coils therein concentrically disposed about a common axis,the upper ends of said coils lying at substantiallv the same level andthe lower ends of said coils lying closely adjacent to the tank bottom,two manifolds lying beneath the tank bottom, and connections from saidmanifolds to the upper and lower ends of the several coils.

5. Apparatus for refining oil, comprising acylindrical tank having aninverted conical bottom provided with a central outlet, a plurality ofhelical pipe coils therein 'concentrically disposed about a common axis,the upper ends of said coils lying at substantially the same level andthe lower ends of said coils lying closely adjacent to the tank bottom,two manifolds lying beneath a cal pipe coils in said tank concentricallydisposed about a common axis, two steam supply manifolds lying beneathsaid tank,

connections from said'manifolds to the upper and lower ends of theseveral coils, and connections for supplying steam from said manifoldsto said annular chamber.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand.

WILLIAM o. McELHENY. Witnesses ELBERT L; HYDE, I WM. P. LARKIN.

